HNC eSports Wins the Winter 2020 Gold League

On Feb. 26, 2020, in the last series of the Winter 2020 Gold season, HNC eSports defeated nTice Pink 3-2 to win the Gold League and its $600 prize.

The roster of Auto, Instinctz, Justify, KaYco, and Penn beat the roster of Asporto, Articule, Carbon Rifle, Fudge, and Hybridous, in five games. HNC fell to nTice in five games during the second week of the regular season, a match which was ultimately the difference between owning the fourth seed and earning a bye, or the fifth seed and having to play in the first round of the playoffs. The extra series didn't seem to matter, as HNC lost only one map during their path to the finals, entering with a 4-0 record and a 12-1 map count.

The eventual runner-ups in nTice Pink had a different path to the finals. After losing their second round match against HNC, nTice had to fight from the losers bracket, winning five straight series to get their chance at redemption in the finals. After getting swept by them in the first series, nTice proved they could compete with HNC, as they went on a 71-17 run in the final four minutes of the first hardpoint to win 250-247. They would also win the second hardpoint 250-224 in a crucial map four to force the final map five, where they would eventually fall 4-6 in search and destroy.

HNC's roster was new to the CACL, compared to nTice's roster, who fielded four players that had played in previous seasons, including Summer 2019 champion and Finals MVP, Carbon Rifle. Auto said he knew that nTice, the only team that beat his team all season, would be the only team that would be a challenge. "I knew our only competition was Carbon Rifle and his team. Never in my mind did I think we were going to lose."

Auto also said he will be returning next season with an even better roster, as they look to defend their title. When asked what his goal was upon his return, his answer, of course, yielded lofty expectations. "Looking to win back-to-back," he said.

The league named KaYco as Finals MVP, as his K/Ds were 1.05 in hardpoint, 1.90 in search and destroy, and 1.93 in domination.